What is and What Should Never Be
by Link's Rose
Summary: Link was trapped inside his mind, Rose was sent in to bring him back out, but she got distracted. A few days turned into a few weeks, and a few weeks into a few months. In this world where Link has that which he wants most, what kind of memories can he and Rose make together? LinkxOC, side story to FBOTT - Part 2.


_A/N: Welcome to What is and What Should Never Be! My first FBOTT side-story! So here's the stitch - if you haven't read Legend of Zelda: Fourth Bearer of the Triforce, or its sequel, (just add a Part 2) I'd recommend doing so, or else you'll have no idea what's going on._

_So, bit of spoilers here! In chapter 14 of FBOTT 1.2, Rose has to make a journey into Link's head to free him from a demon's sleeping curse - originally meant to capture Rose herself. She finds herself in a dream/memory of the thing Link wants most; his family back - his sister Aryll, father Eagus, and mother Mandalin. Even while knowing she has to wake Link up to break the curse, she can't help but stick around. A few days turns into a few weeks, and so on. In FBOTT 1.2, we don't see much of this, save the beginning and wake-up scenes. So I figured why not give a few details?_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess or any of its characters, I'm merely using them for my entertainment and that of others. However, I'm responsible for creating Rose. I gave a name to Link's mother, and borrowed Knight Commander Eagus' name from Skyward Sword._

_Warning: This mini-series is LinkxOC. If that's not your cup of tea, I'd avoid the FBOTT series altogether. No adult content, given that both Rose and I are underage._

_Final note: If Link seems ooc, that is more than likely because this version of Link is untouched by the happenings of Twilight Princess. He doesn't remember any of the _real-world-happenings_. Consciously, at any rate._

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><p>I - Reality Bleeding Through (Dream Within a Dream)<p>

I didn't know what had woken me. The house was quiet, save for the sounds coming from outside, and the crackling of the fire. Wait... no, that wasn't true. After waiting a few seconds, I heard a thump against the wall, like someone had hit it, or kicked it. Sitting up, I listened closer, to find where it was coming from. The level above me; Link's bed was the only one up there - Mandalin and Eagus' bedroom was on the basement/ground level, and I'd heard Aryll tip-toeing down there earlier, as she had done a few nights before now. She'd confided in me that she was scared of the dark, so she often went to her parents' room for the night.

So that left Link. Slowly standing, and cursing the creaking floor while I was at it, I crept up the ladder to the level of the treehouse where Link slept - freezing at a pained noise I heard; was he having a nightmare? Was he hurt? The latter seemed highly unlikely, given we were _dreaming_, but I couldn't be sure until I saw him.

Sure enough, it looked to be a nightmare. Link was tangled in his blanket, covered in a sheen of sweat.

"Link, wake up." I whispered, gently nudging his shoulder as I climbed fully to his level. I wasn't expecting him to flinch away from the touch, continuing to fight some invisible enemy. "Link," I tried again, more forcefully. No... force wouldn't help anything. So, another method had to be used.

"...You're only dreaming - It's okay, you're safe now." I whispered, running my fingers through his hair. "You're safe, you're okay, you just need to wake up..."

The touch and my voice seemed to calm him; his struggling ceased, the stress on his face smoothing out.

"That's right... come on, wake up..." I encouraged. It wasn't the sudden jolt back to wakefulness I'd come to associate with nightmares, when Link did wake up. There were stages to it this time around. The lack of struggling, a subconscious response to my hand in his hair -that is, moving closer?- and then actually waking up.

"Rose?" he murmured, voice a scratchy whisper as he sat up. "What're you...?"

"...You were having a nightmare. So... I came to wake you up." I answered, pulling my hand back awkwardly. I didn't know what to say now, what to do. Did I go back to my bed and sleep? Stay here and try to offer comfort?

That was answered for me when I moved to climb back down the ladder. Link caught my wrist, before I could fully move away. I picked up the unspoken request, settling back down beside him.

"Thank you."

He still looked far too disturbed by whatever he'd dreamt to go back to sleep, though I knew his thanks was genuine. A somewhat uncomfortable silence ensued, broken only by the sounds of the forest outside, and our quiet breathing. Before long, it was more than I could take.

"Scoot over." I instructed, getting to my knees and shuffling until I could lean against the wall. "Now lay back down."

Link did as I said, looking curious all the while, and I shifted a second time so his head was set in my lap.

"My little brother Braeden had nightmares a lot. Our parents worked late most of the time, and our older brothers were busy or out somewhere, so he usually came to me. I'd try to get him to tell me what he'd dreamt of, and let him lay in my lap until he fell asleep again." I explained, hoping he got the hint. He didn't answer for a few minutes, and I wondered if he might have just decided to try going back to sleep anyways.

"We were fighting these... terrible monsters. They looked like... wolves. Everything was dark, like a sunset. The riders mentioned a mistress, she wanted you alive. We fought..." he trailed off, and I remembered what this was.

"_The mistress wants her __**alive**__. Kill the others, we have no need for them_."

"_Don't just stand there, __**help me!**__"_

'_I_-_It's not as bad as it looks...'_

"I couldn't get out of the way in time, one of them... got my side. I was dying..." I stiffened at the memory, my hands twitching as I remembered how close he'd been to death. Link grabbed my hand again, rubbing away the tension. "But you... you saved me. You had magic, and you... healed me."

That was a surprisingly accurate memory. I couldn't even recall how long ago that had been.

"I'd always save you." Goddess-Chosen be damned, it wouldn't matter if Link was just a farmhand again.

"Why?" he asked, genuinely confused. I smiled, playfully ruffling his hair.

"Because I love you, dummy. If it meant saving you, I'd give up every bit of magic in my blood." I said.

"It won't come to that." Link insisted, a small frown coming to his face. I shrugged. It had come close, in the Arbiter's grounds. Though, I couldn't very well tell him that.

"Come on, try to go back to sleep." I urged, closing the conversation. Instead of doing that, however, Link sat up.

"You're not sleeping against the wall, come on." he patted the spot beside him, and I raised my eyebrows. This was... not expected. In the few days we'd been here, we'd had our own separate beds. Given that we weren't gallivanting all over Hyrule trying to save the world, there hadn't been a need to share warmth, or fit in a small campground, nothing like that. He didn't remember any of it in this... state, either. This was a big step, for this version of him.

"Are you... are you sure?" I asked. He nodded, gesturing again to the spot beside him. With a shrug to myself, I shifted again to lay down beside him. "Mm... goodnight." I hummed as he settled beside me.

"Goodnight, Rose."

If Mandalin or Aryll knew that I hadn't been in my bed -which was very openly on the main floor of the house, in plain view- they said nothing. Though, Mandalin's knowing smile said more than enough.

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><p><em>AN: I suck at drabbles, so... drop a review and let me know what you think? See you next snapshot, or when I update FBOTT, whichever comes first._


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